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Increasing VFX Leverage

At the recent FMX Conference in Germany, the panelists of the “Studio Insights” discussion talked about the current state of the VFX industry. Among their remarks, the three panelists revealed an important fact: as the demand for visual effects grows, the amount of leverage VFX artist have is increasing.

There may not be enough artists to meet the every-increasing demand for visual effects shots, participants warned Thursday at the FMX animation and visual effects conference in Stuttgart, Germany.

“The Matrix was only 420 VFX shots. These days, it’s 2,000 [shots], certainly on a Marvel film, and they have gone up to releasing one more movie per year,” said Diana Giorgiutti, executive producer of features at Luma Pictures and a former Marvel producer.

“I’m starting to feel a little concerned about how all of the work is going to get done,” she said, adding that numerous studios have increased their number of VFX-heavy releases. “I don’t think there are enough VFX artists out there to do all of this work.”

While there’s likely always going to be a way to get the amount of work completed, the VFX artists will be the ones who have to bear the brunt of the increasing pressure to complete the work in the time given. This means the leverage available to them to make important changes to where and how they work is also increasing. As the industry relies heavier on their skills and work, the ability to enact meaningful change increases proportionally.

The IATSE is ready to help visual effects artists make those changes. Now more than ever before, working people in visual effects have the ability to act together to create better working environments for themselves in all corners of the business. Changes that would make their working life better, making them better at work, and better workers. Changes that would help others across the world stand together and bring about a better VFX industry for those “making the magic”.